Svetlana Lukic

The president of a far-right group, the Serbian National Movement Nasi ['ours'], was acquitted of persecution, racial discrimination and other forms of discrimination Tuesday. Ivan Ivanoviv faced charges for publishing a blacklist of public figures who he said were anti-Serb "traitors".

The jury, which comprised prominent journalists and editors, unanimously awarded BIRN the prize for the most exciting and investigative work, which provoked the strongest reactions, launched a public debate and asked questions of the authorities.

The Pescanik.net website said on Monday that it had been brought down by a Denial of Service (DOS) attack a day earlier, directly after publishing allegations that that Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic had plagiarised parts of his PhD thesis.

Serbian Minister’s University Accused

The special prosecution for high-tech crime said on Monday that it would investigate after extremist movement SNP Nasi published a list of 30 actors, directors, writers, political analysts and journalists who it described as “traitors” and “the greatest haters of the Serb people”.